Peter Paul Rubens was a 17th century Baroque painter. I’m a fan of Baroque art (“If it ain’t Baroque, don’t fix it!” Har) but there are times that I get frustrated with it for its stylistic and repetitiveness (angels floating around, posed royals, and the like). I’m not saying that I don’t like those types of painting, but it can get a little “boring” (for lack of a better word) viewing them. Rubens certainly did many of these types of work as well, but he also had a way of painting that added tension and “action” into a lot of his works. Paintings from many artists’ would just feel staged and regardless of the subject matter, I felt that the painter would just call “cut!” and the cherubs and angels would just take a break from posing until the painting was ready again. It really didn’t feel as if the artist was an observer painting a scene from ‘outside’ while the action occurred.
Rubens, as well as some other great masters, I think realized this and created works that really added a more dynamic element that makes the painting more of a frame from a movie clip; you felt there was action both before and after what the painting was showing. It wasn’t just a static person or event. One example (I’ve attached Ruben’s painting below) is The Last Supper. Ruben’s version of The Last Supper really portrays this tension using lighting, facial expressions, and overall composition (very much like DiVinci’s Last Supper – undoubtedly the most famous version of The Last Supper).
Wikipedia
Peter Paul Rubens - The Complete Works
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